Young Sponsor Gives to Typhoon Survivors
Source: Children International - USA
Dolores Quinn Kitchin
Website: http://www.children.org
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
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A cinder block house similar to Cristina's is inundated by mud and debris.
Children International
Children International
KANSAS CITY, Mo - Madeline Krahn was hoping to hit the jackpot when she was planning her 13th birthday party. That's because she asked her friends to give donations to help her family's sponsored child, Cristina Perea, whose home and belongings were destroyed by high waters from Typhoon Durian, instead of buying birthday presents for her. The Krahns sponsor Cristina and another child through Children International, a Kansas City-based child sponsorship organization.
Madeline collected $100 that she is giving to the rebuilding efforts in Tabaco and Legazpi where thousands of people have been left homeless. According to the latest report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council, it is estimated that approximately 66,191 houses have been totally destroyed.
"When we visited Cristina's home in March, many of their belongings were on the ground outside of their home. I am sure that all of their stuff is gone now," said Madeline.
Madeline and her sisters, Mallory and Erin, also sponsor a boy named Joseph who lives in Manila. The girls save their allowance and babysitting money to pay for their sponsorship.
Children International has dispatched initial emergency funds in the amount of $10,000 to provide basic food items like rice and noodles for 5,000 families.
"When we visited Cristina's home in March, many of their belongings were on the ground outside of their home. Cristina's home is next to a creek so her home floods every year. I can't imagine how horrible it would be with such a bad typhoon. I am sure that all of their stuff is gone now. They have a second floor to their concrete house, but there is no roof on it. I don't know where they will live," said Madeline.
"Madeline is a wonderful example of how one person can make an impact in the life of one child whose future is changed forever by Typhoon Durian," says James R. Cook, president of Children International.
Children International assists more than 36,000 children in this impoverished area of the Philippines. Children International's board of directors approved $1.5 million to help affected families in relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Children International is accepting donations to help in the rebuilding efforts. To donate, visit www.children.org.
About Children International:
Established in 1936, Children International is a nonprofit organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Children International's programs benefit over 320,000 poor children and their families in 11 countries around the world, including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Zambia and the United States. For more information about Children International, visit www.children.org.
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